Ukraine’s Defense Ministry assess the official Kyiv’s cooperation with NATO as pragmatic; relations with Hungary – work for diplomats.
“We continue working with NATO headquarters in a pragmatic way. We have long-lasting, constructive relations. There are common tasks that need to be solved. And these tasks are usually complex,” Anatoliy Petrenko, director of the Defense Policy, Strategic Planning and International Cooperation Department of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said at a briefing in Kyiv on Nov.30.
Answering Interfax-Ukraine agency’s question about Hungary’s vetoing the meeting of the Ukraine-NATO commission, he said: “Our diplomats are working to prevent education’s law language issue from being exaggerating.”
“If looking through a broader lens, we have common challenges and threats, common regional interests, and common issues of security and defense. Today, as a member of the European Union and NATO, Hungary supports the sanctions regime against Russia and is moving in the same direction of Ukraine’s support. I think, in the nearest future we will be able to achieve the necessary results in relations with Hungary and move forward,” Petrenko said.
He said that two main instruments are used in Ukraine-NATO relations.
“The first is the Annual National Program. Within its framework we are progressing with the implementation of 90% of what was planned, in particular, for the current year. This is a specific instrument of supporting our defense reform, a specific list of measures that allow us to increase our defense capacity. The second is the decision of the Warsaw Summit, a comprehensive package of assistance that unites specific areas of interaction with partners,” Petrenko said.
According to the representative of the Defense Ministry, the result of all this is eight trust funds, “millions of euro, which are allocated to advisory assistance and help in training our troops to the best standards.”
“This is a military-political dialogue. As far as the Ministry of Defense is concerned, for the sake of a single course in opposing aggression and preventing the further deterioration of the security situation, especially in Eastern Europe,” he said.
